Kevin Durant tore up the NBA on the Brooklyn Nets while proudly wearing the No. 7 on his back. He wore No. 35 in Golden State and Oklahoma City before changing to 7 for Brooklyn.
He’s had to change back to 35 due to 7 being retired on the Suns. He revealed on his podcast that he wanted to keep 7 but wanted to respect the fact that the number had been retired.
“I wouldn’t want it from KJ (Kevin Johnson). It’s already up there. That’s it. I wanted to keep 7, I like being 7. All my teammates call me that, it’s become my name. It’s a little weird now when the homies are hollering at me. It’s the only other number I know, so had to go to 35.”
Durant is definitely a higher-profile player than Kevin Johnson and could ask for the number if he wanted to. That behavior would spit in the face of basketball tradition, as retired jerseys are retired for a reason. Durant is back to rocking his classic 35, reminiscent of his MVP years in OKC and title-winning campaigns in Golden State.
Kevin Durant Scripting Success As A Sun?
Kevin Durant’s early run with the Suns was cut short due to injury, with the star possibly being sidelined until the end of the regular season. The true measure of success for Phoenix comes after this season, as the team needs a full offseason together to truly construct a title-winning roster. They’ve lost depth in key areas by trading for KD and need to dip into the free agency pool to find reinforcements.
The level of talent KD has shown that he could return midway through round one and still take the Suns to the Finals in a packed-up West. KD has averaged d 26.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his 3 games with Phoenix, each one resulting in a win. It’s an exciting time to be a Suns fan. If KD delivers on the hype, 35 may hang in the rafters one day too.
Source: fadeawayworld.net
